Planting tool for seedlings

ABSTRACT

A planting tool for seedlings consisting of a shaft in the form of a pipe, having a handle at the upper end thereof, and a pair of blades at the lower end, in the nature of jaws, one of the jaws being fixed and the others being pivotally mounted, and having a foot pedal affixed thereto. A lever is associated with the pipe, with handle means at its upper end, near the handle at the top of the pipe, whereby seeds may be selectively planted in the ground at a predetermined depth, through coordinated manipulation of the pivotably jaw, and the seed lever.

I United States Patent [191 [111 3,749,034 Bergius et a]. 1 July 31,1973 [54] PLANTING TOOL FOR SEEDLINGS 2,171,067 8/!939 Masters .1 Ill/4[76] Inventors: Mikko Hum Tammi Basins 2,89l,8l3 6/1959 lnalu 111/4 uxLansi-Sakyla; Tapio Heikki Saarenketo, Ilvespolku 20, 96400 f Exam" wrkoben Pulfrey Rovaniemi 40; Ami Kflervo Assistant Exammer-Stephen C.Pellegnno Keskflohko, Lansisakyla, a of Attorney-Sandoe, Hopgood &Cahmafde Finland [22] Filed: Mar. 8, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT A planting toolfor seedlings consisting of a shaft in the [21] Appl' 847 form of apipe, having a handle at the upper end 30 1 Foreign Application PriorityData 9 thereof, and a pair of blades at the lower end, in the nai new-.H ture of jaws, one of the jaws being fixed and the others Mill. 1],I97] Fmland ..706/7l being p ny mounted and having a foot pedal fixedthereto. A lever is associated with the i e with 2 ..111411 2 g I i i 53handle means at its upper end, near the handle at the [58] Field g la;92 99 top of the pipe, whereby seeds may be selectively 1 planted in theground at a predetermined depth, through coordinated manipulation of thepivotably jaw, [56] References Cited and the seed lever I v UNITEDSTATES PATENTS I 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 3,150,620 9/1964 Popplewell111/4 2,014,311 9/l935 Council Ill/4 X PLANTING TOOL FOR SEEDLINGSBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The object of this invention is a plantingtool for seedlings comprising a shaft forming pipe with a handle at theupper end of the pipe and a blade at its lower end for making a plantingholein the ground, which blade consists of a fixed jaw extending fromthe lower end of the pipe, and a moveable jaw pivotally mounted to thisjaw, which is connected to an operating means for opening the latterafter pushing the blade into the ground.

Tools of the above-mentionedtype intended for sowing seeds are known itstrue, where the pipe forming the shaft is made to a seed container whichis filled with seeds through an opening in the side of the upper part ofthe pipe to be closed by a cover. The upper part of the pipe is closedby the handle, and the lower part by a bottom provided with a hole to beclosed and opened by a slide connected with the upper end of the turningjaw. Likewise the slide is provided with a hole which when the jaws areclosed is closed by a guide plate below the slide. When the pivoting jawis closed the mentioned holes are opposite one another, so that seedsfrom the pipe are able to fill the hole in the slide. From thelast-mentioned hole the seeds fall out after the hole is made in theground by pushing the jaws in closed position into the ground andthereafter opening the pivoting jaw. For turning this to open position alever is connected to a lug fixed to the lower end of the pipe, onebranch of which is resting against the upper end of the pivoting jaw,while the lower end of a string or a metal wire is connectedto its otherbranch. The upper end of the wire is connected to a hand lever, theother end of which is pivotally mounted to that arm of the hand lever,which closes the upper end of the pipe. When the blade made up of thetwo jaws is pressed into the ground with the hand on the handle, thehand lever is grasped by the fingers and pressed against this handle,where the hand lever turns the knee lever by way of the string or themetal wire. Now the other branch of the knee lever is turning thepivoting jaw to open position, while widening the hole made in theground. At the same time, the slide connected to the pivoting jaw ismoving towards the fixed jaw and the hole in it is passing the guideplate, so that the seeds in the hole are falling into the hole in theground.

However, the device described above has many disadvantages. Forinstance, in order to open the pivoting jaw a great force applied by thehand is necessary, especially when the blade is pressed into hardground. Neither is a device like this suited for planting root cakeseedlings or seedlings reared in paper pots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aim of this invention is to eliminate theabove presented disadvantages, which is accomplished by the deviceaccording to the invention, mainly characterized in that a pedal mountedto the fixed jaw serving as operating means is fixed to the pivotingjaw, thatthe upper end of the pipe is provided with a funnel for fittingthe seedling into the pipe for conducting it between the open jaws inthe planting hole through its open lower end, and that it is providedwith a bolt and trigger mechanism to keep the pivoting jaw in an openposition, and to release it to closed position.

The planting tool according to the invention offers many markedadvantages compared to previously known planting tools of correspondingtype. Because opening of the pivoting jaw is done by stepping by thefoot on the pedal, this jaw can easily be brought to open position whenthe blade is pressed into very hard ground. It is also convenient bymeans of the notch with sharpened edges, made in the upper rim of thefeeding funnel for seedlings at the upper end of the pipe, to cutpossible excess seedlings in the detached root cake from their growingbase, which fits well into the pipe and easily slides through, so thatonly one seedling is left in each root cake .to be planted. By thismeans the thinning work in connection with the seedlings to be planted,which otherwise would have to be carried out duringvthe period of growthis entirely avoided. In addition the pivoting jaw, because of the boltand trigger mechanism, remains in an open position after stepping on thepedal, and closes automatically due to the power of the tension springplaced between the pedal and the pipe after the blade is lifted out fromthe planting hole and the bolt is released by pulling the hook-likeupper end of the trigger pole toward the handle by the finger.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention is described furtherbelow and in the enclosed drawing, in which;

FIG. 1 presents from the side a planting tool according to theinvention,

FIG. 2 presents from the front of the lower ends of the jaw and thefixed jaw on a larger scale, and

FIG. 3 presents on a still larger scale, a partial top section of thebolting and trigger device of the pivoting jaw at the lower end of theshaft.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to the drawing theplanting tool for seedlings according to the invention includes a shaftconsisting of a pipe 1 open at both ends. The upper end of it isprovided with a centrally located funnel 2 and a transversal handle 3,while its lower end is provided with a blade 4 for making the plantinghole in the ground. The blade 4 consists of two jaws 5 and 6 curved incross-section, with a bending radius essentialy equalling the radius ofthe pipe 1. The upper part of both jaws has a semi-cylindrical shape,the jaw thereafter being bevelled downwards like a wedge, so that whenthe jaws are closed the bevelled surfaces are opposite each other toform a blade of the shape of an equilateral wedge.

As the FIGS. 1 and 2 reveal, one jaw 5 is fixed by its upper end as anextension concentrically from the lower end of the pipe ll. From theedges of the upper end of this jaw 5 projections 7 extend sideways withpivots B fixed to them for pivotable mounting of the other jaw 6.Therefore, one of the clamp-like ends of the pedal 9 is welded asoperating means for the turning jaw to the exterior surface of the upperpart of the jaw 6, the branches 10 of which are pivotable mounted to thementioned pivots, between the actual jaw and its projections. Inaddition, one end of a spring 11 is connected to the pedal 9, while theother end is connected to a projection 12 fixed on the pipe, whichspring is striving to draw the free end of the pedal upwards and in thisway to press the pivoting jaw 6 against the fixed jaw 5 to the positionshown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, one

side of an angle-iron 13 is detachably fixed to the exterior surface ofthe fixed jaw 5, while its other side 14 stands out from the jaw. Holesare made into the firstmentioned side at a distance from one another, sothat the location of the angle-iron in relation to the jaw can be variedvertically. The pupose of this angle-iron is described below further. Inorder to lock the pivoting jaw 6 to open position, the planting tool isprovided with a bolt and trigger device. As seen in FIG. 1, and in FIG.3 in particular, this consists of a bolt 16, one end of which isturnably mounted to at a pivot point 15 and fixed to the side of thelower end of the pipe 1, and which is provided with a notch 17 in itslower surface for a counterpiece 18 fixed to the upper end of theturning jaw. A spiral spring 19 is fitted about the pivot point 15 ofthe bolt 16 with one end resting against the fixed jaw 5 and other endresting against the upper surface of the bolt 16, which spring isstriving totum the free end of the bolt downwards, at which when thejaws are closed the bolt is resting against the counter-piece 18 of thepivotable jaw, as seen in FIG. 1. When the pedal 9 is pressed downwards,the jaw 6 pivots to open position in the direction of the pipe 1, i.e.to a vertical position corresponding to the fixed jaw 5, where the upperparts of the jaws 5 and 6 form a cylinder. The jaw 6 turning to thisposition is locked by the counter-piece 18 entering the bolt notch 17 tostay there as the spiral spring 19 is pressing the bolt downwards, alsoafter the pedal is free. In order to open the locking, the lower end ofa trigger pole 20 is connected to the hole made into the free end of thebolt 16, the upper end of which pole bent to a hook 21, reaches near thehandle 3. By holding the handle the trigger pole 20 can be drawn upwardsfrom the hook 21 by the finger, so that the bolt 16 turns upwards andthe counter-piece 18 of the turning jaw 6 is free from the bolt notch17, upon which the jaw 6 closes against the fixed jaw 5 due to thespring 1 1.

In planting seedlings of wood, sugar beets etc. by the planting toolaccording to the invention, the seedlings including growing base orpaper pot are preferably placed into a plant bag hanging from theshoulder of the planter. The planter presses the blade 4 of the plantingtool into the earth with the jaws 5 and 6 closed holding it by thehandle 3, i.e. with the pivoting jaw 6 in the position according to FIG.1, at which the pipe 1 is kept in an essentially vertical position.Pressing the blade into the earth may be accomplished or may be aided bystepping on the protruding branch 14 of the angle-iron 13, which at thesame time determines the depth of penetration of the jaws into theearth, which depth is adjustable by varying the position of theangleiron in relation to the jaw. After this the planter steps on thefree end of the pedal 9, so that the pivoting jaw 6 opens to becomeparallel with the pipe 1 and widens the planting hole, while remainingin open position due to the bolt 16. Then the planter takes a seedlingfrom the plant bag and drops the root cake by way of the funnel 2 intothe pipe 1, along which it slides into the planting hole through the gapbetween the jaws 5 and 6. In pulling the seedlings in the bag from thegrowing base a root cake remains, which can be made smaller by pullingit through a sharpened triangular hole 22 in the edge of the funnel 2.When the seedling has fallen into the planting hole, the planting toolis lifted up and the earth about the seedling is stamped tight. In orderto plant the next seedling the pivoting jaw 6 is closed by pulling thetrigger pole 20 upwards from the hook 21, and again the blade can bepressed into the ground.

A suitable length for the planting tool is found in tests to be about 95cm, at which the planter does not have to bow at all in making theplanting hole and placing the seedling into it. On this accountconsiderably faster and easier planting is accomplished. The insidediameter of the pipe may be about 50 mm for the seedlings to glide andfall easily through the pipe.

The invention of course is not restricted to the above I presentedworking examples alone, but it may be varied considerably within thescope of the invention as far as details are concerned. Thus, forexample, both jaws may be turnably mounted in some suitable way to thelower end of the shaft, so that the jaws can be opened and locked toopen position while being pressed into the ground.

We claim 1. A planting tool for seedlings consisting of a shaft, ahandle at the upper end of the shaft, a blade at the lower end of theshaft for making a planting hole in the ground, the blade consisting ofa fixed jaw extending from the lower end of the pipe, and a jawpivotably mounted with respect to the fixed jaw, the upper end of theshaft being provided with a funnel for fitting the seedling into theshaft whereby they are conducted to the jaws and the planting hole,wherein the improvement comprises an operating means including a pedalattached to the fixed jaw and a bolt and trigger mechanism to keep theturning jaw in an open position and to release it to a closed position,said bolt and trigger mechanism including a bolt mounted to the lowerend of the shaft, rotatable about a pivot point and provided with anotch in its lower surface, a counter piece fixed to the turning jawwhich engages the notch, a spiral spring disposed around the pivot pointof the bolt which rotates the bolt into engagement with the counterpiece thus arresting the jaw in its opened position, the operating meansfurther comprising a trigger pole with its lower end connected to thebolt and its upper end bent to form a hook fixed to the upper end nearthe handle of the shaft.

2. A planting tool according to claim 1, further comprising a tensionspring connected at one end to the pedal and at its other end to theshaft which serves to pull the free end of the pedal upwardly to pressthe pivotable jaw against the fixed jaw.

3. A planting tool according to claim 1, further comprising a tensionspring connected at one end to the pedal and its other end to the shaftwhich pulls the free end of the pedal upwardly to press the pivotablejaw against the fixed jaw.

i 8= t t

1. A planting tool for seedlings consisting of a shaft, a handle at theupper end of the shaft, a blade at the lower end of the shaft for makinga planting hole in the ground, the blade consisting of a fixed jawextending from the lower end of the pipe, and a jaw pivotably mountedwith respect to the fixed jaw, the upper end of the shaft being providedwith a funnel for fitting the seedling into the shaft whereby they areconducted to the jaws and the planting hole, wherein the improvementcomprises an operating means including a pedal attached to the fixed jawand a bolt and trigger mechanism to keep the turning jaw in an openposition and to release it to a closed position, said bolt and triggermechanism including a bolt mounted to the lower end of the shaft,rotatable about a pivot point and provided with a notch in its lowersurface, a counter piece fixed to the turning jaw which engages thenotch, a spiral spring disposed around the pivot point of the bolt whichrotates the bolt into engagement with the counter piece thus arrestingthe jaw in its opened position, the operating means further comprising atrigger pole with its lower end connected to the bolt and its upper endbent to form a hook fixed to the upper end near the handle of the shaft.2. A planting tool according to claim 1, further comprising a tensionspring connected at one end to the pedal and at its other end to theshaft which serves to pull the free end of the pedal upwardly to pressthe pivotable jaw against the fixed jaw.
 3. A planting tool according toclaim 1, further comprising a tension spring connected at one end to thepedal and its other end to the shaft which pulls the free end of thepedal upwardly to press the pivotable jaw against the fixed jaw.